Presence
by yumi-maki
Summary: Sakura turned to Naruto, her eyes full of unshed tears and asked him the question that he had been trying to ignore for months, years even. 'What if he never comes back, Naruto? What do we do then' A two shot.
1. Chapter 1

**Presence**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Sakura stepped back slowly, stumbling almost as a deep ache ripped through her.

"He's never coming back, is he?" And as the words left her mouth, he could actually see the light in her veridian eyes flicker and die. It had grown increasingly dim ever since Sasuke's defection but now as her worst fears were confirmed and all her hopes for Sasuke's return were extinguished, it went out completely, a testament to her feelings, to her never - wavering love.

"He's gone, gone," she continued, her voice cracking partially from fatigue but mainly from disillusionment. Suddenly her legs gave way and she collapsed, her will, for once, broken from this unfortunate turn of events.

His reflexes were still fast enough for him to catch her before she hit the ground. She didn't struggle or even acknowledge his presence but, what else could he really expect right now? It pained him to see how quickly her pain and grief were consuming her. She was practically shrinking right before his eyes, drawing silently into herself.

The fire that had gone out of him upon experiencing the same revelation only a few days ago suddenly flared at this display and a shadow of his old determination returned.

He frowned - he had failed to retrieve Sasuke and as such, he had failed her _again_ but he was not about to let her succumb to this. His grip around her tightened as he made a decision. He would do for her what he was not able to do for Sasuke - he would save her from herself.

**A/N: **I think I might change this. It didn't come out the way I wanted it to. In the mean time, please **REVIEW** and let me know what you think of this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Presence**

**Part 2**

Sakura opened her eyes, then shut them again almost immediately - as soon as she recognized her surroundings. She was _there_ - standing beside the bench where Sasuke had left her on the night of his departure from Konoha. But why? She usually avoided here like the plague.

Cautiously she opened her eyes again and looked around, slowly taking in her surroundings. A chill ran up her spine when she realized that the circumstances were almost identical - it was dark, probably just past dusk, the passage way was empty, she was even wearing her old red dress (the one that she used to wear just to try to impress him - as if anything would)...the only thing missing was Sasuke himself.

She gasped for he appeared in front of her before her thought was even fully realized - he was standing just a little way off, dressed as of old, watching her coolly. She opened her mouth to speak but he beat her to it.

"Sakura."

She cursed herself for being so weak, for falling back into that old pattern of hanging on to his every word, for still feeling this way about him, for being so absolutely _pathetic_ for continuing to pine for him, even though he'd made it clear that he had no interest in her. But all the same, despite loathing herself for feeling this way, she did, she couldn't deny it - the love she had for him remained, steadfast and unwavering and she took a deep breath as she waited for his next words, addressed for once to her and her alone.

"Good - bye."

That was all he said before turning and walking away without so much as another glance in her direction. She stepped forward and opened her mouth again to scream, to call him back but no sound escaped her. She suddenly, _finally_ realized that nothing she said would stop him - he had chosen his path long ago and nothing she could do would make him turn away from it. She stepped back, feeling suddenly as though all the life, all the strength had been drained from her and then unable to support herself, she collapsed. But just like before, instead of falling to the ground, she felt warm arms envelop her and she looked up suddenly into Naruto's face.

He was looking down at her, his blue eyes full of concern and then, quite suddenly, it all fell into place and Sakura realized something that, to anyone else, would seem very simple but to her, it was extremely profound. There were many differences between Naruto and Sasuke but the one which held the most importance in Sakura's mind was that of presence.

The simple fact was that Naruto was there and Sasuke was not.

Her mind ran through her life and she realized with a start, that Naruto had always been there.

During her days at the Academy, he was there.

During the days of the now defunct Team 7, he'd been there.

When Sasuke had left, he was there with her (if not in body, always in spirit for she'd always felt closer to him, than she ever had to Sasuke.)

And now, as her heart was broken and certainly not for the first time by the raven - haired avenger, he was there. Wanting to comfort, to protect and to console her as always, only waiting for her permission. And as she opened her eyes and found herself in the present, neatly esconced in his arms, she finally consented and allowed him to support her as he had always longed to do.

She would never love him as she had Sasuke and she would never love him as he did her, of that she was sure, but perhaps she could learn to love him (as more than a friend and a team mate). For now though, she put it out of her mind or more so, it was forced from her thoughts as the weight of her realization welled up in her again and that ache reappeared stronger, even more potent than before.

Naruto cursed himself for smiling now at such a heartbreaking moment but nevertheless, smile he did (however minutely) as the long time object of his affections buried her face in his chest and uttered the very same words that had haunted her for so long, "Thank you."

**A/N: **Thank Goodness - it's done! I just want to say that I am not a NarutoxSakura shipper but that this represents my acceptance of the pairing and the only way in which I would want it to happen in canon. (See Bane13 - I changed it just for you! And you're right - I did leave myself open. I just want to say that I don't think Sakura at all pathetic if she still loves Sasuke - I'd actually admire that kind of steadfastness. That said** - PLEASE REVIEW!! I really want to know what you think.**


End file.
